


Something we should have done

by yvochrali



Series: The Retoldverse [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Female Friendship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Loss of Powers, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Cuddling, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:15:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26061757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yvochrali/pseuds/yvochrali
Summary: Willow and Xander will always be there for Buffy. Through thick and thin...vampires, ghouls and the ever-nosy Council...not even death will split them apart. Part 1 of my Retoldverse. Set in Season 3. Collides with An Unexpected Bond. B/X/W friendship.
Relationships: Xander Harris & Willow Rosenberg & Buffy Summers
Series: The Retoldverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891282
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Something we should have done

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do (sadly) not own the Buffy universe. (Starts violently sobbing.) If I did, Tara, Wesley, Cordelia would be, and stay, alive. Joyce, Anya and Fred would still die, but not because I hate them or anything, I just think that their deaths actually had purpose, no matter how utterly tragic they were, or how many tears were shed. Including mine.

**Something we should have done**

Willow watched anxiously as her best friend sulked on her bed, hunched over with her elbows propped up on her knees, her eyebrows furrowed together, creating a tiny wrinkle on her normally smooth forehead.  
  
The redhead had a sudden urge to go over and smooth it over with her thumb, which she in turn dutifully suppressed. She didn't think her friend would appreciate the sudden interruption from her “brooding”.  
Her gaze travelled across the room to land on her other best friend, who, not to her surprise, was also watching said other-other best friend sulk like the grown-up kid she could be at times.  
  
She couldn't blame her. _Stupid Council. What good are they anyway?_ Willow thought grumpily. _She wanted nothing better but to go over and... Bad, bad Willow. No thinking about such things. Though I really want to...nope. Buffy wouldn't want me ending up in prison! Then she'd have to bail me out...or her mom would._ She shuddered as she imagined the disappointed “mom face” that would inevitably be directed at her.  
  
Goddess! Even in her head, she babbled like a spaz! She shook her head, willing her mind-babble to go away. Instead, she focused her attention on Xander, who shifted his gaze to look at her as well. He smiled reassuringly at her. _That's my Xander-shaped friend, all right._  
  
Their eyes met, and an understanding was formed. They had to do something.  
  
They looked at the girl sitting on the bed, green and brown eyes twinkling sadly.   
  
Willow crossed over the room to sit next to Buffy on her bed, who just spared her a glance before shifting her gaze back to her feet, not knowing what to say. Xander sat on the other side, catching the slayer by surprise and firmly drawing her attention as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  
  
“You okay there, Buff?” He asked her, almost too cheerfully, trying to bolster her spirits. Willow smiled fondly at his usual goofiness; a trait that fitted her Xander-shaped friend so well, and that had been a constant part of her life since before she could even remember.  
  
“I'm fine.” Came the mumbled answer.  
  
Willow took over, gently grabbing Buffy's right hand. “You don't look ' _fine_ ', Buffy. You've lost your powers, and you don't know when they'll be back, if _ever_.” She said emphatically.  
  
This obviously didn't cheer the now powerless slayer up. “Gee, could you put it even _less_ comforting than that, Will?” She said bitterly.  
  
Willow frowned but kept a gentle, yet firm grip on her best friend's hand. Buffy _needed_ her. And Xander. _O-Or maybe she doesn't need us? Need me? If she doesn't have her powers...no, Buffy would still fight. That's what she does. If we can...she can._  
  
Buffy sighed, realizing what an impact her words had on Willow. “I'm sorry, guys,” She took a deep breath. “I-I just...”  
  
 _I'm just so scared I can't protect you._ The words were left unspoken, but the meaning was clear, and her friends knew it.  
  
Xander simply responded by hugging her closer to him. Buffy momentarily stiffened, before relaxing against him, allowing his warmth to comfort her. Guilt stirred in her heart and stubbornly refused to leave. She had treated them so badly. Pushed them away. Granted, she'd had her reasons at the time, and both Xander and Willow hadn't exactly been Mr and Mrs Available, but she felt guilty nonetheless. _We can be so stupid._  
  
Willow watched the exchange, her anxiety melting away like ice cream in the hot sun. She giggled at the image. The world is alright again.  
  
She happily snuggled into Buffy, sighing contentedly as Xander automatically lifted his arm to hug them both to his larger frame. He smiled softly. This was perfect. He'd been worried that his relationship with Cordelia had caused him to retract from his best friends when he should have trusted them to be able to accept him and the former-Queen Bee.  
  
 _If anyone had told me a year ago that Cordelia Chase of all people would be an official Scooby, and that she'd date me, Xander Lavelle Harris, I'd have told them to “politely check into a mental asylum.” Everything's changed now...for better or for worse. Hey! Check me out; Philosophical Xander._  
  
Meanwhile, Buffy felt her heart suddenly warm at the affection and felt a tear make its way down her cheek as one of her deepest fears lost its base reason to exist.  
  
 _They love me..._  
  
Her friends didn't care whether she got her powers back or not. They loved her for _her_ , not for her powers or even for her ability to protect them, which she no longer processed. At least, at the moment.   
  
She gently kissed the top of Willow's head, feeling her heart somehow swell even more with love. She could count on these people. Willow, Xander, Oz... Cordelia, certainly Giles. Even her mom could one day come around to the idea of her daughter going out at night, and…  
  
 _... The possibility of me not coming back._  
  
Buffy had eventually accepted that there was a likely possibility of her not living to 20, even if it still sometimes left a bitter taste in her mouth. Especially when the Council had gotten involved and tried to _kill_ her by sicking their pet Vampires on her. _Try harder next time, boys._  
  
She _wanted_ to live, but as she had realized during that one summer, not long after she had defeated the Master; sometimes, certain things happened for a reason. And it wasn't _all_ that terrible now that she had people who were _damn set_ on fighting beside her, and that she was so lucky to have that.  
  
Another thing that had lessened the burden was Faith. The other Slayer didn't always say it, but she didn't have too. The connection that the two of them shared was beyond understanding. Buffy felt herself blush heatedly as she recalled the kiss between them that had led to some awkwardness after the younger slayer had confessed that the flirting had simply been a joke, and was now convinced that it was her own fault for "leading Buffy on".   
  
There were people who would be with her. Through the good moments...and the bad. Her mom would have Giles and Jenny to talk to and Dawn wouldn't be alone as she had struck up a very confusing friendship with some older boy; Andrew was it? Even when she is dead, the Scoobies would take care of both of them. Cordelia was dating Xander now; she had a reason to stick around.  
  
They were _her_ people, and she was _theirs_. She had expected the Slayer inside of her to argue, but instead...instead, it seemed _content_ ; finally at rest.  
  
Little did she know, her words rang true.  
  
 _“Thank you.”_ The words echoed from within her as a distinctly female voice, maybe even throughout the room, or even throughout the town, but despite its volume, it went seemingly unnoticed by everyone, including Buffy, who at the moment, was only sure of one thing; Sometimes, life wasn't all that bad.

**Finite**

**Author's Note:**

> Damn, that got angsty real fast!
> 
> As you can see, I am a sucker for well-written friendships. Sometimes romance doesn't belong, because friendship is it's own little bubble entirely, and fluffy-lustness is not invited to the party right now.
> 
> Anyhow, like I said earlier...damn, that got angsty real fast.
> 
> The first version sucked. There, I've said it. It sucked. Vampire's don't even suck that much. Nobody's dying to even glance at the first version...that's how much it sucked. So, this one was born, and it. is. so. so. much. better. I love it. It's a way better version that the last one. Better in every way. (Oh my god, shut up! Waaaay too many vampire puns in one paragraph!)
> 
> Without further ado, R&R and please follow and subscribe. I might have enough movitation to add more one shots to this universe, which I have affectionately dubbed "The Retoldverse".
> 
> But for now...
> 
> xo


End file.
